 The club grounds in 2006 | |
| Personnel | |
|---|---|
| Captain | Justin Clarke |
| Coach | Graham Charlesworth |
| Team information | |
| Founded | 1827 |
| Home ground | University Parks |
| History | |
| First-class debut | Cambridge University in 1827 at Lord's |
| Official website | cricketintheparks |
Oxford University Cricket Club (OUCC), which represents theUniversity of Oxford, had heldfirst-class status since 1827 when it made its debut in the inauguralUniversity Match between OUCC andCambridge University Cricket Club (CUCC). Following the 2021 University Match, OUCC lost its first-class status. It was classified as aList A team in 1973 only.[1] Home fixtures are played at theUniversity Parks slightly northeast ofOxford city centre.
The earliest reference to cricket at Oxford is in 1673. OUCC made its known debut in the inauguralUniversity Match between Oxford andCambridge played in 1827. In terms of extant clubs being involved, this is the oldest major fixture in the world: i.e., although some inter-county fixtures are much older, none of the current county clubs were founded before 1839 (the oldest known current fixture isKentversusSurrey).[citation needed]
TheMagdalen Ground was used for the University Cricket Club's first match in 1829, and remain in regular use until 1880.[2] Bullingdon Green was used for two matches in 1843.[3][4] TheUniversity Parks became the home ground of OUCC in 1881,[5][6] when the Master ofPembroke,Evan Evans obtaining a lease on 10 acres of land there.[7][8] The pavilion was designed byThomas G. Jackson, architect of many nineteenth- and early twentieth-century Oxford buildings, including the university'sExamination Schools.[7] The building has three gables, the central one containing the clock, and is topped by acupola andweather-vane.[5] The pavilion contains a Long Room.[7] The two ends of the pitch are the Pavilion End and the Norham Gardens End.[9]
The University Match became the club's sole first-class fixture each season from 2001 until the end of first-class status for university sides in 2020. Apart from this annual game, played in late June or early July, the OUCC first team operates as part of the Oxford University Centre of Cricketing Excellence (UCCE), which includesOxford Brookes University. The UCCE was rebranded as OxfordMCC University (MCCU) prior to the 2010 season. The University Match is the only one in which a true OUCC team takes part: i.e., composed entirely of current Oxford students.[citation needed]
The Oxford University Centre of Cricketing Excellence (OUCCE) team played 26 first-class matches (not including one abandoned) from 2001 to 2009.[10] As Oxford Marylebone Cricket Club University, the team has played sixteen first-class matches from 2010 to 2016.[11]
The five grounds that Oxford University have used for home first-class and List A matches since 1829 are listed below, with statistics complete through to the end of the 2014 season. Only the first-class and List A matches played at the ground by Oxford University are recorded in the table.
| Name | Location | First | Last | Matches | First | Last | Matches | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First-class | List A | |||||||
| Magdalen Ground | Oxford | 5 June 1829 vCambridge University | 20 May 1912 vSouth Africans | 70 | — | — | 0 | [12][13] |
| Bullingdon Green | Oxford | 24 May 1843 vMarylebone Cricket Club | 8 June 1843 vCambridge University | 2 | — | — | 0 | [14][15] |
Christ Church Ground | Oxford | 3 June 1878 vGentlemen of England | 31 May 1961 vAustralians | 37 | — | — | 0 | [16][17] |
University Parks | Oxford | 16 May 1881 vMarylebone Cricket Club | 2 July 2018 vCambridge University | 738 | 28 April 1973 vLeicestershire | 7 May 1973 vWarwickshire | 2 | [18][19][20] |
New College Ground | Oxford | 31 May 1906 vYorkshire | 30 May 1907 vSouth Africans | 2 | — | — | 0 | [21][22] |
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